Slightly more than 1,900 people have contributed to the myPG process so far -- a total that left city council members in an upbeat mood on Monday night.
"Nineteen hundred participants doesn't seem like a lot but compared to some of the other surveys and other things that we've done in the years that I've been here, I think 1,900 is a pretty good turnout," Coun. Brian Skakun said.
Broken down further, 1,154 filled out surveys while 545 participated in so-called kitchen table talks centred on workbooks designed to generate discussion and ideas. In all 125 workbooks were sent out to groups and individuals.
Further to those totals, interviews were conducted with 36 people, 120 participated in launch events and 52 attended a workshop on food security for a total of 1,907 responses.
"The quality of the results was amazing, so that is something that is going to provide a very rich data set for the community for all sorts of projects," Mark Fercho, the city staff member in charge of coordinating the process, told council.
And as of mid-January, about two-and-a-half months after it was launched, the myPG website drew 2,535 unique visits and had 14,820 page views.
Next up is a number of strategy workshops. The first, which started Monday and continues through Feb. 9, is a "trends and uncertainties survey" during which information is gathered about external factors that affect Prince George.
Community leaders and experts will be interviewed and the community is invited to share ideas on possible future trends, uncertainties, threats and opportunities for Prince George on the website at www.mypg.ca.
People can vote up if they like an idea or vote down if they don't. The top-rated ideas will be considered at the upcoming scenarios workshops. Ideas may also be phoned in or dropped off at city hall.
Possibilities raised Monday night ranged from the splashy, like being struck by a spring flood and a winter ice jam in six months, to the mundane, like the greying of Prince George's population and what that will mean in terms of addressing the city's needs.
The process was launched in October to get grass roots input to create a long-term sustainability plan, required, in part, by the federal government for the community to continue to be eligible for gas tax payments from Ottawa.
The city is eligible to collect just under $3 million annually through gas taxes from Ottawa over the next several years, but the community's ability to more generally secure government funding, from Canada and the province, could be further at risk if it does not have a long-term sustainable plan, mayor Dan Rogers has contended.
The planning process - expected to be complete by the winter of 2010-11 - is being assisted by Vancouver-based H.B. Lanarc Consultants Ltd. in a $444,000 contract, the majority of which is coming from federal funding. The federal gas tax is providing $300,000, and another $120,000 comes from a grant from Ottawa. The city is contributing $100,000, in part, so that long-term sustainable planning exercise can link with the city's official community plan process.
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
